Israel Weekly News Roundup Nov. 10, 2023
Entering Week 6 of the Israel - Hamas Gaza War
The War in Gaza, Shifa General Hospital:
Israeli military forces continue the ground operation and are located in Gaza City, surrounding the city center, especially the area of Al Shifa General Hospital. Al Shifa has become one of the symbols of the Gaza war. Shifa is the biggest hospital in the Gaza Strip. It is located in downtown Gaza, and serves a population of hundreds of thousands of people. Since the war began, a month ago, there were reports of the challenges faced to keep a hospital running in a situation of constant shelling and bombing. Later Israel cut the power to Gaza and there were reports that surgeons have to operate with no anesthesia, using cellphones for lighting and face other challenges to give proper treatment. Israel claimed that Hamas senior operatives and most of the leaders are hiding in tunnels and bunkers underneath the hospital area, and by so doing they endanger all the hospital patients. According to IDF (Israel Defense Force) sources, Israeli military forces have surrounded the Shifa hospital area and are about to enter in order to capture Hamas militants and destroy the major war room from which they control their people. If that happens many patients might become further collateral damage from such an attack.
Regional and International Players Push for Ceasefire in Gaza in Exchange for Release of Dozens of Hostages
239 people, including women, children and elderly are being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, public support in Israel for their immediate safe return is on the rise. According to media reports, nearly half of the hostages are foreign nationals or have dual citizenship.
Intensive advocacy campaigns in Israel and abroad by families of the hostages and their allies have proven effective in keeping the issue of the hostages and their plight at the center of public opinion. In Israel, Last Saturday evening, thousands attended vigils around the country, alongside family members of the hostages, calling for their immediate release. Vigils and public art installations calling for the immediate release of the hostages were held in cities around the world, including: Madrid, NYC, LA and London.
Concurrently, calls for an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian aid to Gaza civilians multiply. US President Joe Biden, French President Emanuel Macron and other prominent leaders have increased pressure on PM Netanyahu, calling for a five-day ceasefire in Gaza, in exchange for the release of some of the hostages. The media reported that Qatar is mediating negotiations between Israel and Hamas for the potential release of 10-15 hostages held in Gaza in exchange for a humanitarian pause in fighting. However, PM Netanyahu has so far rejected the possibility of early talks or a ceasefire. President Biden said earlier this week that there is no possibility of a ceasefire at the moment, only short daily pauses in combat, to allow civilians to flee to the south of the strip.
Head of Hizbollah In First Appearance Since October 7th
Hassan Nasrallah, the head of the Lebanese Islamic organization Hizbollah, delivered a speech from his hiding place, his bunker in Beirut. From the start of the Gaza war, on October 7th. Hizbollah together with Hamas are, perceived as proxies of Iran, and considered to be part of the axis of terror by most of the Western world. According to intelligence analysis, Hamas expected Hizbollah to join the war, by attacking Israel from the north and thereby drag Israeli forces into a second military front in the north. Despite this, Nasrallah said in his speech that the war in Gaza is a local violent confrontation. Nevertheless, the northern border of Israel, with Lebanon, is not safe and not quiet. There is a constant threat against northern Israeli communities, which experience missiles and rocket attacks on a daily basis.
All the communities, villages and Kibbutzim on the border with Lebanon were evacuated a few weeks ago, and the residents are are staying in hotels all over the country. They don’t know when they will be able to return home, and they refuse to go back home as long as the multiple threats of missiles, rockets and terrorist incursions is not completely lifted.
Journalists and Media in Gaza Endangered
Israeli journalists were banned from entering Gaza since Hamas took over the control of the Gaza Strip in 2006. Nobody could guarantee the safety of Israeli media in Gaza under Hamas and Israeli authorities put a strict prohibition on the entry of Israeli citizens in general and journalists in particular. Representatives of foreign media were able to travel from Israel to Gaza, via the Erez checkpoint. In addition, some major media outlets had local journalists who lived in Gaza and reported regularly. During key events, foreign journalists would visit Gaza. Major news agencies also kept crews in Gaza, mainly AP, AFP and Reuters.
When the Israeli army invaded the Gaza Strip, last week, the IDF (Israel Defense Force) allowed military correspondents from most media outlets in Israel to accompany a few army units for a few hours, to report on the advance of the ground operation.
Meanwhile, the Gaza offices of AP and AFP news agencies were bombed and hit by Israeli missiles. It became extremely challenging for any media outlets and journalists to report from Gaza. According to the CPJ (Committee to Protect Journalists, here) 39 journalists have been murdered (in Israel) or killed (in Gaza) since October 7th. It has become even more challenging after the IDF announced earlier that it cannot guarantee the safety of journalists during the war. As a result it has become extremely challenging to get reliable information from Gaza.
A Battle for Public Opinion on the World Stage
World public opinion expressed vast support, sympathy and strong solidarity with Israel at the beginning of the war, especially after the Hamas attack on October 7th. A majority of significant world leaders, and the public mainly in western countries, supported the right of Israel to defend itself. As days go by, and the scale of destruction in Gaza unfolds, the humanitarian crisis becomes increasingly severe, so there is a shift in sentiment around the world. The IDF and officials in Israel are trying to justify Israeli actions in Gaza. The IDF has a 45 minute long video, which is a collection of short clips from the Hamas October 7 attack. Some of the clips were taken from the GoPro cameras that Hamas operators were carrying while shooting, murdering and setting fire to the homes of Israelis. The video was shown to heads of states, to ambassadors in Israel, to the core foreign press in Israel, to prove the cruelty of Hamas and to strengthen support and solidarity with Israel. The video was not publicly released, because not all the families of the people who were slaughtered consented. According to people who watched it, the video depicts chilling footage of extremely inhumane action by Hamas operators.
On the other hand, the situation in Gaza has caught the attention of the world, the reality of the carnage on the ground is hard to observe, and people are motivated to demonstrate against Israel and Israeli military actions in Gaza.
Agriculture in Israel at Risk
The war in Gaza has put at risk the agricultural economy in Israel. Many of the cultivated fields are located near the border with Gaza, and on the border with Lebanon. All those communities were evacuated from their homes. In addition, in many places the workers were either Palestinians from Gaza who are banned from entering Israel to work during the war or foreign, mainly Thais workers who have returned to Thailand as a result of the war. Some of the workers from Gaza were suspected of collecting information on Israeli communities, towns and villages that was used by Hamas to plan the attack. Some of them were murdered by Hamas during the attack, or taken hostage to Gaza. As a result, there is a severe labor shortage in the agricultural sector and there is an intensive effort to use Israeli volunteers to do the job.
Israelis Observe Day of Mourning Marking One Month Since October 7 Massacre; Bereaved Families Initiate Sit-In Protest Near Knesset
The day of mourning was organized by bereaved families and civil society groups. Thousands of people participated in memorial services and quiet vigils in memory of the victims and in solidarity with the hostages and their families. At 11 a.m., a minute of silence was marked nationwide and localities across the country lowered the national flag to half-staff.
Members of three bereaved families started a sit-in protest near the Knesset in Jerusalem, following a public vigil held at the evening of a Civic Day of mourning for the victims of the Hamas massacre. Bereaved family members who spoke at the vigil called on PM Netanyahu to resign immediately, adding that he was the one responsible for the death of their loved ones and for the crisis which engulfs a
ll of Israeli society. Public polls show that the majority of Israelis, including half of Likud voters, find PM Netanyahu responsible for Israel’s grim situation. While many believe he should resign after the Hamas-Israel war is over, voices for his immediate resignation are on the rise.
**Trigger Warning, Contains Distressing News**
Forensic Evidence and Initial Eyewitness Testimonies Confirm Rape of Israeli Women During Hamas Attack:
As harrowing details of the Hamas attack on rural and urban communities near the Gaza border continue to unfold, media reports of forensic evidence and first eyewitness testimonies corroborate the initial fear of sexual violence against women.
Paramedics who conducted the initial identification of bodies at the scene, as well as reports by the forensic lab scientists provided evidence of sexual assault perpetrated by Hamas warriors against female civilians and soldiers.
Ha’aretz news website reported earlier this week of a first eyewitness account of gang rape of a young woman at the Nova rave. Rape Crisis Centers and feminist activists in Israel are working to train and advise therapists who provide treatment and counseling to survivors of the massacre.
Further Reading:
Shifa hospital: Here, here, here
Hostages: Here, here, here, here
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